'Ac yr oedd yn y wlad hono bugeiliaid' - 'And there werein that land shepherds'.

And this is where the holiday season begins for me. Sheep andshepherds (tea towels slipping offtheir heads, the doll in the crib, kings in foil crownsand glittered capes, hay, straw, tinselledangels, a moth eaten donkey andcameras flashing wildly in the audience of grandparentsand parents).

Ffion and Maudie attend a Welsh medium school, the one Oliver and Harry went to. Their'Carolau Nadolig'take place in little chapels dotted around Pembrokeshire. We've been to Wolfscastle, (Castell Blaidd), Tabernacle, Bethesda (Augustus John's 'Bethseda' in 'Chiaroscuro') andEbenezer.

The caretakerswarm these vast Victorian buildingsto roastingly hottemperatures for the performance. Before I even step inside, the smell of carpet runners on the pews greets me. From my seat high up in thegallery,waiting for the performance to begin, I watch the dampness flaking off the pale blue (usually) plaster walls and admire the painted gold stars.

One year they performed 'Mam Maria' (Mamma Mia), my favourite and it always amazes me at the talent the children show at these performances.

On another scale, the Whitland Male Voice Choir sings in the grandeur of Picton Castle this weekend. St David's Cathedral and other churches will have their Carol services later on.

In Gowerton Grammar we sang 'Adeste Fideles' every Christmasimmediately after the school dinner but, as Emma says, once 'Glancleddau' sings 'Seren Wen uwch ben y byd, Babanannwylyn ei crud', the tears will start. Makes it worth all the palaver of going out on a cold, dark night.